National Football League

Rams' Bobby Wagner eager to prove Seahawks 'wrong'

Published Jul. 16, 2022 3:07 p.m. ET

Star linebacker Bobby Wagner will regularly suit up in front of family and friends now that he's playing for the Los Angeles Rams.

It's one of the new perks for the eight-time Pro Bowler, who grew up in Ontario, CA and signed a five-year, $50 million deal with L.A. this offseason.

The move came after his shocking release from the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he earned six All-Pro selections over 10 seasons and won a Super Bowl. This week, he reiterated his desire to remain in Seattle but said he's come to terms with relocating.

"Obviously, there are still feelings there [about being released], but at the end of the day, I have a different perspective," Wagner said. "I think my opinion on it would have been different if I ended up somewhere else, but to have the opportunity to go home and play not far from my family. … I didn’t want to leave Seattle. But if I was going to leave Seattle, home was the next-best thing for me and so being able to be home, like I’m at peace with the situation.

"But still, any competitor is looking forward to going back to the place that you played that they felt like you didn’t have nothing left and proving them wrong."

The 32-year-old added that he has a lot to contribute to the reigning-champion Rams, which provide him an opportunity to face his old squad twice a season and compound the impact of his departure from the NFC West rival.

"I think that I’m in a better position to make plays, and I think I’m going to have more opportunities to do some of the things that I was doing early on in my career," Wagner noted. "So I think I’m going to surprise everybody but myself."

Wagner, who twice led the league in tackles (2016, 2019), joins a Rams team that took a hit on defense with the departure of future Hall of Famer Von Miller to Buffalo. He gives the Rams an All-Pro performer on all three levels of their defense, joining Aaron Donald on the defensive line and Jalen Ramsey in the secondary.

Wagner will first take on his former team when the Rams host the Seahawks in Week 13 in Los Angeles on FOX.